


With Love, Most Mistakes Can Be Forgiven

by RaeMin



Series: SKZ Little Space AU [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: A+ caregivers, Age Play, Age Regression, Angst, Caregiver, Little Space, M/M, Multi, Non-Sexual Age Play, Punishment, Sensory Overload, caregivers to the rescue, stressed out jeongin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-19 06:15:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22139779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeMin/pseuds/RaeMin
Summary: Felix is having a bad day. Jeongin is stressed too and doesn't handle it well. Chan tries his best but we all make mistakes.OR - Jeongin is wrongfully punished for something he didn't do.
Relationships: Yang Jeongin | I.N/Everyone
Series: SKZ Little Space AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1391593
Comments: 21
Kudos: 451





	With Love, Most Mistakes Can Be Forgiven

**Author's Note:**

> *Part two of 'Brave'. This is set slightly before the final resolution chapter in 'Brave' if you're confused about the timeline! 
> 
> **Ateez members (Seonghwa and Wooyoung) are present only in text messages. For now ;)

It had started off as a normal day.

Jeongin had been a little grumpy in the morning (he nearly always was - little or not. Mornings suck, so can you really blame him?) but his mood had quickly turned around and he was now the bubbly little boy he normally was.

It wasn't Jeongin that was having the off day, no, that was Felix's job.

Don't get him wrong, Jeongin loves Felix. But sometimes little Felix just gets so tired, and when he gets tired he gets grumpy, and when he gets grumpy he gets, well, kind of mean.

Jeongin had seen Felix nearly get into trouble a handfull of times today and it was only 1:30 in the afternoon. He was giving Jisung a run for his money with how many times he could get one of the caregivers (mainly Woojin) to tell him to watch his tone, stop throwing things, stop whining, stop yelling. The list goes on and on.

Jeongin has very little room to deal with negativity. He was always quiet and nice to play with and preferred stuffed animals over action figures and play-wrestling like Felix and Jisung. Jisung and Felix got in trouble one way or another nearly every single day, whereas Jeongin had been punished by a caregiver once. While Felix and Jisung would wrangle themselves out of cuddling with a caregiver, Jeongin would gladly take that over playing by himself on the floor any day.

Jeongin was just.... different from Felix and Jisung.

Seungmin, though? Now that was someone Jeongin got along with. Seungmin was just as soft-tempered as he was, and one of Jeongin's favorite things to do is play stuffed animals with Seungmin. And cuddling. Seungmin was an excellent cuddler.

Despite trying not to let it, Felix's bad mood was affecting Jeongin. When little, Jeongin had a difficult time handling yelling or any other loud type of noise. So Felix's constant screeching was definitely getting on his nerves.

"Felix, honey, I can't help you if you don't tell Daddy what's wrong," Chan attempted to soothe, but it appeared to be falling on deaf ears once again as Felix just wouldn't stop.

Jeongin covered his ears, quickly becoming overwhelmed. He turned to look for a caregiver to make it all better, but Woojin was occupied with Minho (who still preferred to stay on his own when he was little), Changbin and Chan were attempting to calm down Felix, and Hyunjin had just taken Seungmin to the bathroom.

Jeongin felt his breathing pick up. He tried to remember the breathing exercise Chan-hyung and Woojin-hyung had taught him for when he was overwhelmed. He tried his best to settle his breathing but to no avail. Jeongin tried to get Chan or Changbin's attention - but the distressed sound got lodged in his throat and was easily drowned out by Felix's wailing.

Suddenly, even the lights were getting to be too much. The lamp felt like it was burning him but as much as Jeongin wanted to get away, his legs wouldn't work. Left with no other options, Jeongin clamped his hands over his ears and buried his head in his knees.

Just as it had been too loud, suddenly the room was much too quiet. Jeongin felt himself being scooped up into someone's arms and carted away into one of the bedrooms. He could tell by the smell of the sweater that the person holding him was Hyunjin.

Hyunjin didn't try to pry Jeongin's hands away from his ears, instead waiting until the boy did it himself. Jeongin had told them at the start that that's what he needed when he had an episode like this.

Jeongin wiped his eyes, not even realizing that he had been crying.

"Loud," he whispered after a while. "Felix loud."

Hyunjin laughed, scooping Jeongin back up into his arms and bouncing him while walking around the small bedroom. "He is a very grumpy boy today, isn't he?" Hyunjin said, voice just above a whisper.

Jeongin hated it when he had moments like this. He didn't understand why he couldn't handle noises sometimes, or why things he had gotten so used to during the day could suddenly no longer be handled. Chan had once told him that it was something called 'sensory overload', but having a name for it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

He still remembered the first time it happened - back towards the start of their group. None of the caregivers had known what to do, or what was wrong with Jeongin when he suddenly clamped his hands over his ears, curled up into the fetal position, and sobbed into his knees in the middle of the living room. Jeongin hadn't known how to explain it either - it was hard to put into words that sometimes things were just too much - the TV volume, lights, and normal chatter of a day could be fine one second, and then the next it's too loud, too much, and Jeongin can't handle it.

He tried to explain the best he could. He even told the members how his parents had used to simply pick him up and dump him into a quiet bedroom by himself when he got like this. Jeongin had tried to explain, without crying, that he _did_ need to be taken somewhere quiet, but he didn't ever want to be left alone. Jeongin also pretended he didn't hear Changbin's snarky comment about "shitty parenting" directed towards his parents; instead burying his laugh into his sleeve while Chan elbowed Changbin and told him to behave.

Episodes this bad had only happened a handful of times since they had all known each other. Mainly it was on really long days, or when Jeongin hadn't been little in a longer time than normal.

Hyunjin continued bouncing Jeongin until his breathing evened out and he finally stopped crying. "Hungry, Jinnie." the boy finally mumbled after a while.

"Well then let's get you something to eat, huh? Would you like to stay here in the quiet, or do you want to come with me?" Hyunjin asked, voice still soft.

Jeongin tightened his hold on Hyunjin's sweater in response. Hyunjin hesitated, "Are you sure, baby? Felix might still be upset and I think the TV is on, too. Is that okay?"

Jeongin's heart clenched at how good of a caregiver Hyunjin was. Despite still feeling antsy, Jeongin nodded against Hyunjin's neck.

"Okay," Hyunjin sighed, "but if it gets too much just pull on my sweater, okay?"

Cooking dinner with Jeongin clinging to him like a baby koala proved to be quite difficult for Hyunjin. Jeongin always got clingier than normal after an episode, and who was Hyunjin to deny the adorable maknae?

"Hey, you two," Woojin uttered, voice soft as he carded his fingers through Jeongin's hair while Hyunjin finished the food. "Is everything okay?"

"Innie wasn't feeling good, so we had some quiet time and then he told me he was hungry." Hyunjin explained. 'Quiet time' had become code for Jeongin's downtime after an episode. Jeongin vaguely registered Woojin's eyebrows furrowing.

"It's been a while since you've had one, huh baby?" Jeongin nodded, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. Woojin always had this effect on him. "How're you feeling now, sweet boy?"

"Icky," Jeongin whined, and it was true. He still felt off. After a moment, he added, "hungry." to his list of complaints, which had both Woojin and Hyunjin laughing fondly. 

After Hyunjin had fed Jeongin small bites of chicken nugget, the boy had requested watching cartoons in the living room. The food proved to be the fuel Jeongin needed, as when he finally reached the couch, Jeongin was itching to get out of Hyunjin's arms to dive into their mountain of movies in DVD cases.

Jeongin found the movie he was after - Lilo and Stitch, and hummed happily as it began to play. He handed the remote to Hyunjin so that he would skip the commercials.

About a half-hour later, Hyunjin and Jeongin were snuggled up on the couch and Jeongin was giggling softly at Jumba and Pleakley's antics when Felix shuffled in. He appeared to be in a better mood, but Jeongin knew better than most how quickly that could change. Felix smiled at Hyunjin and stuck a glittery and colorful piece of small poster board in his face.

Jeongin frowned. He knew what that was. Felix pointed at a section of his mood chart (a system created by the caregivers to encourage good behavior by earning stickers that counted towards special privileges - which worked wonders on bad days like the one Felix was having), and grinned proudly, "I earned stickers for good 'ehavior, hyungie! I wanna pick movie!" 

Jeongin's frown deepened as he peered up at Hyunjin. He didn't want to change the movie. He had been there first and Felix hadn't and now they were changing the movie for him because of his stupid good mood chart and that wasn't _fair_.

The maknae huffed, suddenly not feeling all that little anymore. He stood, glared at Felix, and said, "Fine, change the movie. I'm done anyway." before storming off to his room.

He shut the door and locked it, something he never did unless he was truly upset. He knew the lock was nothing but a formality - the hyungs knew exactly where the key to unlock it was kept and would never hesitate to use it. But Jeongin just wanted to be alone.

Jeongin flailed around on his bed in a fit of childish anger. Felix had been a brat all day and Jeongin had been nothing but good (minus his episode earlier) so where were his stickers? Why did Felix get special treatment? 

Deep down, Jeongin knew he was being a baby about the whole situation. He knew that the caregivers had a chart for him as well, and Jeongin took pride in having the most stickers out of all the littles in their group. But he was sad and upset and lonely and it certainly felt like the caregivers loved Felix a lot more than him at the moment, as he could hear laughter coming from the living room and the sound of a movie (Felix's pick, no doubt) playing in the background. 

Anger turned into sniffles, and before he knew it, he was muffling sobs into his sweater sleeves. Jeongin _knew_ that he always became more emotional and fragile on bad days. 

A series of knocks on his door startled him out of his thoughts. Jeongin called out for the culprit to leave him alone, but the knocking didn't cease - in fact, it increased. Jeongin dragged himself out of bed and to the door, unlocking it and flinging it open to face none other than Felix.

Felix was stood there, holding out a large bowl of popcorn to Jeongin. "Innie want popcorn?"

"No, Felix. I don't want any popcorn," Jeongin snapped, but immediately felt guilty. "Thank you, though," he added as an afterthought.

He went to turn away and retreat back to his bed, but Felix pushed his way into his room. "Innie have popcorn!" 

"Felix," Jeongin breathed, almost coming out as a whine. "I said I don't want any popcorn, now leave me alone!"

It was harsh and Jeongin knew it. Felix's eyes were widening and his lower lip was wobbling. "Fine! Don' wanna share anyway!" Felix snapped, making to turn around and head back to the living room. But his foot caught on the corner of Jeongin's dresser and everything seemed to move in slow motion as he stumbled, popcorn bowl going flying, his ankle twisting painfully as he landed on the floor in a heap. 

Jeongin was frozen. Felix let out a loud wail and Jeongin panicked, rushing toward the boy. "Felix! Are you o-" 

"No!" Felix screamed, pushing Jeongin away from him. Jeongin watched as Hyunjin and Chan rushed into the room, crouching down to inspect Felix's injuries. The boy was inconsolable, tears never stopping as Chan gently inspected his ankle, checking for any serious damage.

"Felix, honey, what happened?" Chan questioned, and Felix looked like he was about to explain the fall before his eyes locked with Jeongin's, and his anger and hurt from a few minutes before made an ugly reappearance.

"Innie push me!" Felix wailed, pointing an accusatory finger at Jeongin. Jeongin blanched, eyes widening in disbelief. 

"I did not." Jeongin stammered, but he could see Chan's body language changing. 

"Jeongin, can you tell me what happened, please?" Chan asked, running a tired hand through his hair. How was Jeongin only now realizing how exhausted Chan was? He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and Felix's mood certainly wouldn't have helped him feel any more rested today.

Jeongin tried to stammer through an explanation, but he could tell Chan wasn't buying it. Felix was still sniffling pathetically on the floor, whining to Hyunjin about how much of a 'meanie' Jeongin is. Hyunjin didn't look like he would be helping Jeongin plead his case anytime soon, and Jeongin would be lying if he said that didn't hurt him. 

He was telling Chan what happened, but what difference did it make if Chan didn't believe him? What was even the point? Jeongin began to shut down. He huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest, turning away from Chan who was still trying to pry details out of him. To Jeongin, it seemed as though Chan had made up his mind on what had happened the second he entered the room and his 'precious baby Lixie' pointed the finger at Jeongin. Nothing that Jeongin would say could change that.

Jeongin's lower lip wobbled as Hyunjin took Felix out of the room, knowing exactly what was coming next. It had only happened one other time, but Jeongin recognized the sinking feeling and knew exactly what Chan sitting down on the bed meant. Jeongin heard Chan pat the spot next to him on the bed, indicating that Jeongin was meant to sit there. Jeongin complied. 

He felt Chan's watchful gaze train itself on him as he picked at the comforter. Jeongin's eyes filled with tears and he slowly began to feel smaller and smaller, until any semblance of being big he'd had when Felix had entered the room had vanished completely. 

"Can you tell me why you're being punished, Jeongin?" Chan asked, voice soft as ever. Jeongin's breath hitched at the words, and he brought his sleeve up to his mouth and clamped down on it hard. He shook his head, feeling guilt well up in his throat and anger and frustration simmer uncomfortably in his tummy.

" _Jeongin,_ " Chan warned, causing the waterworks to burst completely. Jeongin choked out a sob.

"'Lix loud 'n mean all day and change 'lo 'n Stitch and I _said_ I didn't wan' any popcorn but he wouldn't _go,_ " Jeongin spoke through raspy gasps, not realizing that he wasn't exactly proving himself innocent in this situation. 

"Is that why you pushed him? Because he wouldn't leave you alone and just wanted to offer you some popcorn? That wasn't very nice, Jeongin." Chan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Jeongin backtracked, scootching away from Chan because _how was he not getting it already?!_ "No! Didn't push Lix, 'addy. He _fell._ " 

Despite it not being a lie, Chan still didn't look like he believed him. Which just wasn't _fair_ because Jeongin had _never_ lied to a caregiver before, why didn't Chan trust him?

"Jeongin, I don't think you're being very truthful. Hyunjin told me that Felix upset you when he asked to change the movie, and you went to your room because you were upset. Felix went to go see you to offer you popcorn and ask if you wanted to come and join us for the movie, and next thing we know, he's on the floor crying. Felix told me he was telling the truth. I don't think _you_ are being very truthful right now, sweetheart." Chan explained, not missing how Jeongin curled even farther into himself. "Do you have anything you want to tell me?" 

Jeongin _tried_ to formulate a response, but between how little he was feeling and his episode earlier, his brain was nothing but a muddled bucket of chaos, and words were so far out of his reach. Jeongin shook his head, giving up. He knew he wasn't going to win. There was nothing he could do to stop what was about to happen.

Chan sighed, and Jeongin felt bad for causing him so much stress. So the boy stood, grabbing his stuffed animal from his bunk and heading for the corner. He knew he was allowed a stuffed animal from the last (and only) time he was punished with corner time.

Chan clicked his tongue, and Jeongin froze in confusion. He looked down at the stuffed animal in his arms and whined, not wanting to put him down. Surely Chan wouldn't make him face corner time all by himself?

"No, baby, You can keep the stuffed animal, but you know what the punishment is for pushing or hitting."

_Oh._

_**Oh.** _

Jeongin paled, backed away from Chan, and burst into tears.

Jeongin had _never_ been spanked. Not even as a child growing up with his parents. The thought of it had always terrified him, prevented him from acting out completely. He knew all the other littles had been spanked by either Chan or Woojin at some point (Felix and Jisung being the main culprits), and that it was normal and perfectly healthy, but he had _never_ even come close to acting out bad enough to be taken over someone's knee.

And the fact that it was about to happen, because Felix had lied, and Jeongin hadn't even done anything wrong?

Jeongin was devastated, but above all that, he was _scared._ He had never been scared of Chan before, but as the older picked him up off the floor and deposited him gently onto the bed Jeongin was _petrified._

Rough sobs shook Jeongin's frame as Chan placed a hand on his back to guide him over his lap. Jeongin attempted to stay upright, but Chan's hand was unrelenting and soon enough Jeongin was horizontal across Chan's legs. Chan rubbed soothing circles on the hysterical boy's back, waiting for him to calm down and catch his breath. Chan reached for the stuffed toy Jeongin had dropped and handed it back to him. Jeongin held it like it was a lifeline.

Jeongin could hear that Chan was saying something, but he couldn't hear it over his sniffles and the roaring pressure in his ears. Chan's voice sounded soft and soothing, but it did little to calm Jeongin's aching heart.

Why was this happening?

Jeongin went completely still and silent at the first hit. It was like he was stuck in disbelief of his surroundings. Chan had been kind enough to leave Jeongin's pajama bottoms on, but that didn't mean that it didn't _hurt_. 

At the second slap (Chan was being _incredibly_ gentle, barely even using any force at all) the tears came rushing back. Jeongin sobbed into Chan's leg, dropping his stuffed animal again, only causing him to cry harder.

His whole body felt like lead when Chan helped him upright just a few moments later. The whole ordeal had lasted less than two minutes, but to Jeongin, it felt like years had passed. He couldn't meet Chan's eyes as the older wiped away his tears, mumbling soft nothings about how proud he was of Jeongin and how he was forgiven, what a good boy he was.

Jeongin felt numb.

\---

Jeongin hadn't wanted to face the others afterward, knowing full well that their walls were super thin and that there was no way every single one of them hadn't heard Jeongin crying through his punishment. 

Instead, he had opted to cuddle with Chan for a bit. Despite being mad at the older for not listening to him and believing that he was telling the truth, he was still Jeongin's caregiver. His cuddles were still the best, and the aftercare of a punishment almost made it worth it in a way.

Chan had been positively doting on Jeongin. Wrapping him in his favorite cuddly blanket, smothering his forehead with kisses until the boy giggled. 

As the time passed, Jeongin began feeling big again. He shifted in Chan's arms, meeting his gaze for the first time all night. "I think I'm going to shower and head to bed. Is that okay?" Jeongin asked, voice still scratchy from all the crying he'd done earlier.

Chan nodded and let him go, but not before one last gross sloppy forehead kiss. After his shower, Jeongin returned to an empty room. He curled under his blankets and reached for his phone. He opened his messages, yearning to talk to someone but not knowing who.

After a while, he scrolled down to a contact he hadn't reached out to in a couple of months. Wooyoung was a member of Ateez, the two had bonded over both being littles during one of the few times their groups had hung out together outside of "work" events. Chan and Hongjoong were close as trainees, and that had brought the rest of the members closer together after debut.

_**Jeongin** _

_Hi Hyung_

Jeongin didn't have to wait long for a reply - it was later in the evening, and Jeongin knew Ateez was on a small break from promotions at the moment; it was one of the main reasons he had chosen to reach out to him.

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_jeonginnie!!! hi baby!!_

_what's up???_

The two worked through some polite banter for a short while - talking about promotions, Jeongin congratulation Wooyoung on their groups first win (to quote Hyunjin, it was a " _goddamn disgrace that they haven't won sooner"_ ), and checking in with each other on how they were taking care of themselves. Finally, Jeongin gnawed his lip as he began to breach the real reason for reaching out to Wooyoung.

_**Jeongin** _

_Hyung can I ask you a personal question?_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_ooooooooh kinky ;)_

_**Jeongin** _

_It's not like THAT aewongweoifnew_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_okay you've really got me curious pls ask away my precious little baby bean_

_**Jeongin** _

_So hypothetically_

_Have you ever been punished by a cg for something you didn't do?_

**_Woooooooyoungie hyung <3_ **

_so is it chan or woojin that im beating up_

_**Jeongin** _

_Hyung_

_I said it was hypothetical_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_i dont believe u_

_but hypothetically_

_yes_

_i have_

_its not fun_

_asshole babysitter. may 2004. he thought i spilled the mayo_

_i did not spill the mayo_

_my dog did_

_**Jeongin** _

_Did you feel..... bad afterward?_

_Like... off?_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_are we still being hypothetical or are you telling me which hyung im killing_

_**Jeongin** _

_Hyung please?_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_fine but only bc ur cute_

_yeah. its normal to feel bad. you didnt do anything wrong, yet youre being punished for it. goes against what cgs are supposed to do_

_Jeongin?_

_You there?_

_..... do you wanna talk to seonghwa hyung?_

_**Jeongin** _

_please?_

_only if hes not busy_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3 **_added **_HwaHyung_** to the chat

_**HwaHyung** _

_I am here my sweet child please tell me who wronged you_

_How can I help?_

_**Jeongin** _

_I got punished for something I didn't do and now I don't feel good_

_**Woooooooyoungie hyung <3** _

_aight_

_start naming names_

_imma start cracking knuckles_

**_HwaHyung_ **

_Do you want to talk about what happened, Jeongin?_

_Also Wooyoung_

_No_

_**Jeongin** _

_Felix was in a terrible mood all day. Chan was really stressed and worn out. I left so I wouldn't get more upset but Felix followed me and wouldnt leave me ALONE so I yelled at him (which was not nice) so then he tripped and popcorn went everywhere and he starts sobbing and then chan hyung comes and felix told him i pushed him_

_hyung wouldnt believe me and so i got punished anyway and it didnt even hurt that bad but theyve never punished me like that before_

_now i dont feel good even tho chan hyung cuddled me afterward. he wasnt mean. how do i make it better hyungs?_

_.... hyungs?_

**_HwaHyung_ **

_Sorry sweetheart I just had to physically prevent Wooyoung from leaving the dorm_

_I'm so sorry this happened._

_Chan should have taken better care to determine whether or not you were telling the truth. I'm sorry he didn't do that._

_**Jeongin** _

_He's really tired. he didn't mean it to be mean. I don't blame him I just wish he would have listened to me a little bit_

**_HwaHyung_ **

_You're perfectly justified in feeling that way, baby. Have you thought about talking to Chan about what happened while you're big?_

**_Jeongin_ **

_I don't think I'll tell him. He's already stressed enough as it is. I know if I tell him he made a mistake he'll beat himself up over it_

_And that isn't good for anyone_

_Logically, it's really not that bad_

_im being a baby_

**_HwaHyung_ **

_Sweetheart, you are NOT being a baby_

_Even if it was the gentlest punishment in the world and you were cuddled to death afterward, that doesn't make it okay_

**_Jeongin_ **

_I feel like a disappointment_

_Like. I've only ever gotten corner time for refusing to eat dinner_

_But I was just spanked because Felix lied and that's the default punishment for pushing or hitting_

_What if Chan hyung tells Woojin hyung and they don't love me as much anymore?_

_W if thy kick m out?_

_Don wanna b alne_

**_HwaHyung_ **

_I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But I think I know what needs to be done._

_\---_

Chan's phone ringing cut through the silence of his studio. He had helped put the other littles to bed before Woojin was practically throwing him out of the dorm - the older knew he needed alone time after rough days.

Chan's mind kept flitting back through the days events. Felix being in an awful mood had stressed him out to no end, but he didn't hold it against the younger. Chan knew that not every day as a caregiver was a fun, cuddly, happy one. The bad days were just as big a part of being a caregiver as the good ones were. And Chan was grateful that Felix was comfortable enough with them to act out when he needed to, instead of bottling up his emotions until they boiled over when he was big.

Chan tugged at his hair as he remembered wrapping up Felix's ankle. It was just a minor sprain from how he landed; nothing major that would even prevent him from dancing the next day. But the injury made him think of why it had all happened.

Jeongin _never_ acted out. Chan felt horrible for having to punish him, but over the years, Chan had gotten pretty good at gauging from body language and eye contact whether a little was being truthful or not. And Jeongin not being able to meet his eyes and how frustrated and defensive he had become at Chan's questioning had been a surefire way for Chan to tell that Jeongin wasn't being truthful.

Or so he had thought.

Furrowing his brows, Chan hit the green 'accept' button for the incoming call from Seonghwa. He was more than confused as to why the eldest member of Ateez was calling him at midnight on a Tuesday.

"Hello?" Chan greeted.

" _Hey, Chan-hyung._ " came Seonghwa's response. " _Where are you right now?_ "

"Um," Chan responded intelligently, more than confused. "I'm in my studio. Why?" 

" _You need to go home to Jeongin._ " Seonghwa said in such a straightforward, no-nonsense tone that it made Chan's blood run cold.

"Why? What's wrong with Jeongin?" 

" _He texted Wooyoung. Told him that he was punished for something he didn't do and couldn't figure out why he doesn't feel good. He explained to us what happened with Felix, and said that you didn't give him much of a chance to explain himself. He also said he didn't want to tell you, but he doesn't sound good right now and I'm too far away to come check on him._ "

Chan had stood mid-sentence, rushing around the room to collect his belongings. He threw his stuff into his backpack and shut down his monitor, locking the studio door behind him and rushing down the hall to the building exit.

"I'm going home right now. Fucking _fuck_ I am such an idiot he must have been so _scared_." 

" _He also said you'd do that. Blame yourself. So please don't do it in front of him. Just own up and say that you made a mistake."_

Ragged breath of someone running home was the only response Seonghwa heard on the other end of the line. " _And make sure he knows that you and Woojin love him._ "

\---

Chan didn't say a word as he rushed into the dorm. Seungmin shot him a questioning look that went ignored as Chan flew through the kitchen and into the living room, heading straight for Woojin. He gripped Woojin's arm and tugged him off of his spot on the couch, earning an annoyed huff when the older dropped his phone - but one look at Chan was all it took for annoyance to morph into confusion and concern.

"Chan? What's wrong?" 

Chan's only response was pulling Woojin into their shared bedroom and slamming the door and locking it behind them. Chan didn't know why he was panicking, he just knew that he had messed up and that because of his mistake he had _terrified_ Jeongin.

"Chan, _breathe._ " Woojin ordered, placing firm hands on his shoulders. Chan sucked in air, eyes finally meeting Woojin's as the world came back into focus.

"I fucked up," Chan wheezed, "I fucked up so _bad,_ Woojin."

Woojin's eyebrows furrowed. "You're gonna have to give me more information than that, Chan."

"Jeongin didn't push Felix." Woojin froze, eyes going wide.

"How do you know that?"

"Seonghwa called me. He said that Jeongin texted Wooyoung saying that he was punished for something he didn't do, and that he couldn't figure out why he didn't feel good."

"Okay," Woojin said, running a hand through his hair. "Okay. We need to make this right. Right now."

"I think it should be you." Chan started, "I've read about this. The effect wrongful punishment can have on a little. I think it's best that you go talk to him first. And then, if Jeongin is okay with it, I'll come in and talk to him too." 

Woojin was hesitant, but he nodded in agreement with Chan. "It's going to be okay. Wait here, I'll text you." 

\---

Woojin stood with his hand millimeters above the door to Jeongin's room. After pushing open the door, Woojin's eyes flicked over to Jeongin's bed. The boy was huddled up under his blanket, and as Woojin walked closer, he could hear muffled sniffles coming from underneath the lump of blankets.

"Jeonginnie?" Woojin asked gently. The sniffling stopped immediately, and Woojin could tell Jeongin was pretending to be asleep. "Sweetheart, can we talk please?"

Jeongin shifted again, and it was like a dam broke - he popped out from under the blankets, red-rimmed eyes making way for more tears and loud sobs as Jeongin reached out for Woojin with grabby hands. 

Woojin felt his heart crack as he pulled Jeongin into his arms. The boy was inconsolable, clutching at Woojin like his life depended on it. "I d-didn't push L-lixie, Appa." Jeongin choked out between sobs.

"Shh, baby, I know. I know you didn't push him, it's okay. You're okay." Woojin continued to soothe, "I'm so sorry, baby. It's okay. Appa's here."

"D-daddy scare m-me," Jeongin rasped, tangling his fingers even tighter into Woojin's shirt. 

Woojin's heart cracked even more. "Oh, angel. He didn't mean it. Daddy and I love you very much. Daddy is very sorry that he didn't talk to you very well."

Woojin continued to reassure Jeongin that he was loved and that his caregivers were sorry as he held Jeongin while he fell asleep. Woojin continued to rock him, whispering sweet nothings until he was sure Jeongin couldn't hear him anymore.

Carefully, Woojin tucked Jeongin back into bed. He kissed the boys forehead once more before leaving the room and heading back to Chan. Chan's head jerked up when he heard the door open. He frantically stood, asking Woojin what had happened.

"Jeongin is okay. He's hurt, but he knows that we still love him and that you know that you made a mistake. I told him that we knew what actually happened, and that seemed to calm him quite a bit."

Chan deflated, guilt taking over his face once again. "Chan," Woojin started, sitting down next to the younger. "You didn't know. We all make those mistakes. It's _okay._ Jeongin still loves you, he still trusts you."

"How do you know that? He, I, he, hyung, you didn't hear how hard he was crying," Chan sniffed, wiping at his eyes. "I thought it was just because he'd never been spanked before- oh my _god."_ Chan broke off, face crumpling as he truly realized how scared Jeongin must have been. Not only had Chan spanked him, but he had done it for something Jeongin hadn't actually _done._

Woojin was silent for a moment beside Chan. "I know that there's only so many words, and only time is truly going to heal this but," Woojin paused. "Jeongin still loves you. I know that he does. A little's love for their caregiver doesn't go away over something like this."

And, as always, Woojin had been right. As soon as the next day, things began slowly returning back to normal. When Jeongin had woken up in his headspace, Woojin had been there to mediate as Chan apologized to the boy, and had watched as Jeongin’s eyes had filled with tears and he had thrown himself at Chan. 

Woojin laughed fondly as Jeongin snuggled up to Chan, almost immediately falling asleep in his arms. 

“Well, that went well,” Chan said, running a hand through Jeongin’s hair.

“Sure did. Now we just have to have a fun chat with Felix.” Chan sucked in a breath. He was definitely not looking forward to that conversation. 

“We can do that _after_ I cuddle Jeongin to death.” Woojin laughed at Chan, sidling up next to him and Jeongin. 

"Yeah," he agreed with a soft smile, "Definitely after." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the Jeongin segment of this series! I really had fun exploring Jeongin's character, as well as writing a text message style conversation and writing Ateez characters for the first time!
> 
> Stay tuned for the rest of the members :)
> 
> Leave a comment if you'd like! I love hearing from all of you <3


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